Lovely Leland

Back on Lake Michigan – Lovely Leland

Even though there are no anchorages for a visit to Leland, we were advised not to miss this little town.  The nick name for Leland is Fish Town – their claim to fame and symbol is the tug that still operates here plus a quaint little shopping area housed in old fish huts. For our entertainment the mini ferry to the Manitou islands operates out of this marina. On the main street up from the harbor the town flows around Lake Lelanau with shaded streets and the now familiar mix of art galleries, antiques, eateries, and bookstores.  Leland is the home to George Ball the owner of Good Old Books – a treasure trove of hardback used books.  The independent bookstore/coffee house is a hub of activity on the main street, and the library offers a free paperback to cruisers in our welcome package as a draw to get us to look at their 50 cent books. Some of the best antiques were the vintage cars which thankfully were not for sale. The farmer’s market again offered freshly picked berries and veggies plus local honey and handmade soaps. The local history museum had two interesting displays – one on the shipwrecks of the Manitou channel (fortunately all from previous centuries) and the lumbering and cottage communities on North Manitou Island. In the early 19 hundreds there was a summer cottage colony on the island. (Lots cost $75.) The cottages did not have kitchens since all the meals were taken in a central dining hall – now that is a true vacation! These days the island is for primitive camping only – how times have changed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our stop in Leland included another adventure which we would like to have avoided both times. Reading peacefully in the late afternoon on our first day, we watched a Chris Craft struggling to maneuver in the winds that had kicked up.  Too late we realized they were trying to get into the slip next to ours.  The post which should have been in between our slips was missing so this boat brushed our bow as the captain fought to control his bow while backing into his slip. The scrapping noise and jarring thud as they bounced off our boat made us jump – a little tardy – to push the Chris Craft away. The resulting crumples to our window should have taught us to be more proactive, but the next afternoon we were kissed once again by the next occupant of the same slip. At least this time, Steve was on the bow with a bumper ready – yet all too quickly the incoming boat bumped us once again. Fortunately, Steve and their crew, Linda, prevented any damage. Both captains were courteous and solicitously checked on potential damage. From one captain we were glad to hear this is not a frequent occurrence – this was only the second time he has hit another boat in more than 30 years of boating. This just suggests we were in the wrong place two days in a row, and we have a whole new definition for proactivity.

 

On a happy note – Steve finally located the problem with our new TV. I think we mentioned this upgrade to an AC/DC TV back in May as Steve birthday present. The original antique that came with the boat did not fully function and the plastic housing was literally disintegrating. The fancy new model that we saw on Dan’s boat in Cape May was ordered along with the new frig and delivered by Arch and Susan back in June. This sleek flat screen has a crisp picture, but was plagued by a gremlin. The remote sensor only worked now and then. Fortunately we were able to use the buttons on the top to tune it for the local channels but this required getting up from the prone position and using a flashlight.  Neither was conducive to napping in front of the evening news. Steve issued urgent text messages and e-mails to the US distributor (this machine is made in Australia) and a new remote was sent via Paul which finally caught up to us in Traverse City. Frustration continued as this remote did not solve the problem.  It didn’t work at all and the sensor light still operated on some internal schedule of its own. Another round of virtual communication and Steve was put in touch with a repair shop near Chicago.  The helpful tech agreed to send Steve the suspect “board” and this overnight package was waiting for us in Leland. When he disassembled the unit he alertly noticed the plug attached to the original suspect board was not firmly attached.  He fixed that without replacing the board and magic; it all worked just fine. The amazing Steve scores again, and now he has some spare parts. The new TV has also been mounted on a new false wall in the old cabinet giving me another galley storage space as a bonus. Everyone is happy!

P.S. Unless we have given the impression that all we do is shop and enjoy docktails, I include a few photos from our 15+ mile bike around Lake Lelanau – just a few hills and a wonderful lunch stop!